The invention refers to a method and a device for data processing, in particular for image data processing, where, e.g., a large amount of image data has to be handled in short time. Such an image data processing means is necessary, for example, in screening processes on, e.g., biological and/or chemical samples, in particular in high throughput screening and media screening. High-resolution images, in particular digitally recorded high-resolution images, comprise a large amount of image data. In confocal microscopy, for example, even images of a medium resolution typically have a size between 5 to 10 Mbyte. In modern high throughput screening installations a plurality of chemical and/or biological samples are examined in short time. Here, at least one image is generated of every sample. Usually, titer plates are used in high throughput screening that have 1536 recesses (wells), for example, where a sample is located in each well. In modern high throughput screening installations, up to 50 titer plates and more are scanned a day. The daily amount of data thus sums up to about 400 to 1,000 Gbyte. Besides recording image data, other examining methods such as fluorescence spectroscopy acquire a plurality of measuring or analysis data. In addition to the problem of a great storage effort for such data, there is a problem, in particular with high throughput screening, that the assaying methods are extremely complex and therefore require high computing power. In the above described example, performing conventional assaying methods on the data recorded on one day would take about 1 week even with a fast computer. In high throughput screening installations charged to capacity and continuously operating, evaluation times that long would result in a substantial hardware effort to be able to process a corresponding amount of data. Further, the delay between performing the assay and obtaining the evaluation results is too long, especially for modern service companies.